Wednesday, 4 February 2026

 Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (18:42): (2272) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Health and relates to the closure of VicHealth. For 40 years the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation, commonly known as VicHealth, has been a world-leading health promotion agency working to promote good health and prevent chronic disease. When it was first established, it was a world-first health promotion foundation, a step now taken by governments across the world. VicHealth has run successful initiatives to reduce the rates of drinking and smoking, encourage active and socially connected lifestyles and encourage the living of healthier lives overall. Notably, VicHealth also recognised the negative health impacts of meat consumption, recognising that one of the healthiest things a person can do is to have a largely plant-based diet. Their work recognised and strove to combat the systemic barriers to good health. This included campaigns to boost women’s participation in sport and initiatives specifically targeting minority communities, all of this being firmly grounded in the understanding that health promotion works best when it is led by the community.

Despite all of this, the government is still firmly intent on scrapping it. Although this decision is guided by a desire to save money in the state budget, we know that in the long run, investing in health prevention saves significantly more than it costs. Chronic disease costs Australia about $140 billion each year, and it is estimated that every dollar spent on health prevention results in $14.30 in future health cost savings. This is a reckless, short-sighted move by the Victorian government that will have serious health impacts. The action that I seek is for the government to reverse their decision and to save VicHealth.